Toboggan ban at East Lynn Park and other city hills has residents furious, says Beaches-East York Councillor Bradford

By AMARACHI AMADIKE, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Local residents are making their feelings clear as signs prohibiting tobogganing at East Lynn Park have already been knocked down just days after the ban was implemented by the City of Toronto.

This doesn’t surprise Beaches-East York Councillor Brad Bradford who told Beach Metro Community News that he believes his constituents will still choose to go sledding at the park “regardless of what the city says or does”.

“This is the kind of thing that makes people frustrated and upset about the City of Toronto,” said Bradford. “For years – decades – families have been tobogganing in this park in my community. I even bring my own daughter here.”

According to the City of Toronto’s tobogganing inspection program, 45 parks are unsafe for the popular winter activity. In the case of East Lynn Park, which is located on the south side of Danforth Avenue just west of Woodbine Avenue, the city cites the concrete wading pool, field house building, stair case, trees and light poles as obstructive elements that could result in injuries to tobogganers.

The City of Toronto has cited the concrete wading pool, field house building, stair case, trees and light poles as obstructive elements that could result in injuries to tobogganers at East Lynn Park. Photo by Alan Shackleton.

Bradford said residents who frequent the hill are saying that this is an overreaction by the city considering no serious injuries to tobogganers have been reported at East Lynn Park.

“For people to wake up one day and see ‘No Tobogganing’ signs makes them furious,” said Bradford. “Even worse, the city is now refusing to put out safety measures like padding and hay bales that they have done in the past.”

Unlike Toronto, cities such as Ottawa and Quebec City have unfortunately had fatal incidents at unsafe tobogganing hills.

Last year, a four-year-old girl fell into the Mistassibi River just north of Quebec City after crashing through a fence while sledding.

In 2021, an 11-year-old girl died in a sledding accident in Ottawa after crashing into metal posts. Following that fatal incident, Ottawa added extra safety measures to the hill such as cushion wraps and hay bales around trees and posts to soften any potential impact even though tobogganing was already prohibited at that particular hill and signs indicating such had been in place since 2017.

Although the City of Toronto is attempting to take proactive measures by banning tobogganing in the parks that were deemed unfit for the activity, Bradford said that a better measure would be to “offer some protection rather than an all-or-nothing approach”.

“Over the years, there have unfortunately been tragic incidents on city streets and along our waterfront,” said Bradford. “The solution isn’t to close those areas to the public, but rather to take concrete steps to reduce risks and help residents make informed decisions.”

However, in a comment to City News, city spokesperson Lindsay Broadhead said that safety measures put in place in the past “didn’t work” as “there were injuries and in some cases, serious injuries” even though metal posts and trees were padded.

Toronto has now designated 29 hills as safe for tobogganing, but considering this is an activity that residents prefer to do close to their homes as they often have to drag their sleds to the hill through the snowy streets, it is unlikely that many will travel to approved hills to partake in the activity.

Although Bradford said he applauds the city for making residents aware of potential tobogganing hazards, he said that parents will also assess risk levels of activities and “make decisions in the best interests of their children.”

– Amarachi Amadike is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter for Beach Metro Community News. His reporting is funded by the Government of Canada through its Local Journalism Initiative.